Honour the Dead
by vuarapuung
Summary: When Ginny and Draco are found brutally murdered, Harry takes on the case to track down the killer. However, the truth may be even more horrifying than the crime.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: his story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.**

_A/N _Written for **Grapes** on FA, who listed this plot bunny.

**###**

It was not right. They were wizard photographs and yet they did not move. They were supposed to move. They were supposed to be people smiling and laughing and clapping each other on the back. Wizard photographs were not supposed to look like this.

Harry Potter was at his desk, late at night. He'd been an Auror for eight years now. Hell, he'd fought in a war as a seventeen year old.

But these wizard photographs were something else.

Every one of them seemed to show more blood than could possibly be necessary. He'd remembered arriving at the scene. He never knew the human body could hold so much blood. And there were two of them.

He dropped the photographs down onto the desk, allowing himself time to regain his composure. It was getting late, and he knew that he should go home, but he wasn't going to give up on this case. Not when it was so personal.

He eventually decided that a five minute nap in the staff room would do him the world of good. Almost all of the Aurors would have gone home by now. Every now and again someone would get so involved in a case as to pull an all-nighter, but usually the only people here were the two or three junior Aurors who had pulled night duty. The staff room was empty when Harry arrived, and he lay himself down on one of the sofas nearest the door.

He tried to close his eyes, but he couldn't shake the memory of that scene again. It had to have been the work of wizards; he was sure of that. But why would wizards use such a brutal method when a simple Killing Curse could have dispatched with them and not left any mess behind?

And there was the question of what Ginny Weasley and Draco Malfoy had been doing together in the first place.

Harry forced his eyes shut again. Just a few hours ago he had looked at the broken body of the girl he had once loved...

Whilst the head had lay several feet away, in a wicker basket.

Oh, he would be lucky to ever sleep again.

###


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: his story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. Even this disclaimer was nicked off another website**

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_One year ago:_

Before she even had to open her eyes, she knew where she was. She was in a bed that was not her own and every single inch of her seemed to ache.

In all her Hogwarts years and all her years with the Holyhead Harpies, this was the first Quidditch accident she had ever had. Given the way she felt now, she decided she would be quite glad not to have any more Quidditch accidents in her life.

She opened her eyes slowly, taking time to adjust to the light. The healer stood above her bed, examining a clip-board.

"Ah, you're awake, at last," the Healer drawled.

Ginny snapped her eyes closed again. No... no, it couldn't be.

"Don't worry, Ginevra, you've not lost your mind," the healer said. "It really is that sexy beast you used to go to school with."

"Don't call me Ginevra, _Malfoy_," she growled.

"Actually, it's _Healer Malfoy_ these days," he replied with a smirk. "And Ginevra is the name given on your patient file, so please forgive me for assuming that that was your name, _Miss Weasley_."

"My name is Ginny. Don't you ever read a newspaper?"

"Only for the crosswords," he said. He pulled out his wand. "Right, well, hold still. I suppose I may as well check your vitals now you're up."

Ginny scrambled away from him, holding the covers close to herself as if they might protect her against his wand.

"I'm not letting you near me," Ginny hissed. "For all I know, this is some trick."

"It seems as though the Hospital was unaware of our previous family history," Malfoy said. "Either that, or it decided to ignore it. Either way, I am your Healer and as such I intend on making you better whether you like it or not. Now hold still, it's just a few simple tests."

Ginny knew better than to disagree with a trained medical professional. Especially when the last thing she could remember was being on a broomstick hundreds of feet in the air. She let Malfoy get on with his tests. Though she was not going to obey his every order and defiantly fiddled with the covers as much as possible.

"Everything looks okay, but I'll just have to ask you a few questions," Malfoy said. He picked up the clipboard and dipped his quill in an inkpot at the side of the bed.

"Any past history of head injuries?"

"No. What happened?"

"Bludgers. Nasty things. Anyway, any family history of mental illnesses? As if I even need to ask, the whole family is stark raving mad."

"Hey!" Ginny exclaimed indignantly. "That's my family you're talking about!"

"My apologies," he said with another cheeky smirk. "Any boyfriends? Husbands?"

"No."

"Not even Potter?" Malfoy asked, looking rather surprised.

"Ah, so you do read that trash in the newspaper," Ginny said. She was rather pleased to see his cheeks turn slightly pink. "Well, we broke up a few months ago. The Daily Prophet, strangely, seemed to miss that one, and went instead with rumours that I was pregnant with his child."

"Are you pregnant?"

"No, of course not."

"Have you got any plans for dinner tomorrow night?"

Ginny looked at him for a long moment, expecting him to be sneering at her. And yet the man was quite clearly flushed.

"Malfoy, please tell me that you don't actually try it on with female patients..."

"Ginny, please," Malfoy said, though his attempts to appear calm might be more believable were he not turning into a shade of red previously owned by the Weasleys. "I am a trained medical professional. Now, dinner plans."

Ginny sighed.

"I don't even know what day it is today, and I can still say without a doubt that I have no dinner plans for tomorrow."

"Excellent. So, I'll pick you up at your flat at seven?"

Ginny rolled her eyes. Still, she supposed that it couldn't hurt to let the rich, young Healer take her out for a meal.

"Fine, have it your way. How do you know where I live, anyway?" Ginny asked. Malfoy waved the clipboard in front of her.

"Patient Medical Records. You can learn just about anything from them."

Malfoy left the room shortly after making sure everything was fine. Ginny lay back in the bed, wondering just how comprehensive the medical records were...

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	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: his story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. Even this disclaimer was nicked off another website**

###

Harry knew that the first logical step would be to visit the families. Given his previous relationship with the two families, he decided it best to visit the Weasleys first. He wondered how poor Molly must have been taking the death of another child. Losing Fred had hit her fairly hard.

He still was not looking forward to visiting the Burrow. He knew that he should not have been covering this case, due to his involvement with the family and one of the victims in particular, but he had enough pull around the Auror department to get the case assigned to him. He wouldn't have trusted anyone else with this case anyway. Not even Ron, who probably would have just stormed up to Malfoy Manor and killed Lucius Malfoy on the spot.

At the moment the senior Malfoy seemed to be the most likely suspect. At least everyone at the office seemed to think so. He'd served time for Death Eater activity, after all. But killing his own son just didn't make any sense. It effectively ended the Malfoy line, something Harry couldn't imagine someone like Lucius would do.

And Harry remembered the final battle at Hogwarts. How Lucius Malfoy had clung to his wife and child for dear life. Despite whatever he may have said in public, Lucius did seem to love his son.

Harry knocked quietly on the front door of the Burrow. Normally he'd just have strode in the back door whenever he pleased, but as he was here on official business he thought it best to knock first. It was Arthur who answered.

"Harry, my son," Arthur said, his eyes welling up. He stepped forward to embrace Harry. Even when Ginny and Harry had broken up the family had always seemed to cling to the hope that Harry would one day be an official member of the family. But with Ginny's death, that hope had perhaps died.

"You know you don't need to knock here," Arthur said. "Come in, Harry, come in."

"Sorry, Arthur, but I thought it best to formally announce myself to the family," Harry explained. "I'm here on behalf of the Aurors, actually. We're investigating the murder."

Arthur looked slightly put out, but he waved Harry in as well. Harry watched the man's retreating back for a second before following him through into the living room, where Molly was sitting knitting a sweater.

"Molly," he said, announcing his presence to her. She jumped a little in her seat to show her surprise, before she sprang up to envelope Harry in a bone-crushing hug.

"I'm so sorry," he said, patting her on the back. She sobbed into his chest, before pulling back.

"Oh, thank you, Harry, dear," she whimpered, pulling out a handkerchief to blow her nose. "Sit, sit, I'll make some tea."

"Could you get the others?" Harry asked. "The other boys. I just... need to talk to you all together. Auror stuff."

Molly nodded to say she understood. She gave one call up the stairs, and the boys started to descend the staircase one at a time. Harry embraced each of them in turn. Percy was first down, as always, followed by Bill and Charlie. Percy was the same as ever, but Bill and Charlie seemed particularly cold and distant.

George was next. When his twin had died it had hit him the hardest. Now he sported long, unruly hair that hung past his shoulders and a full, ginger beard. He had confided in Harry that the reason for his choice of appearance was because he couldn't bear to see Fred every time he looked in the mirror. He often joked, though, that his twin would have found his new look rather amusing.

Ron was last to arrive, though he came from work through the fireplace. Harry had poked his head into Ron's cubicle earlier to ask if he would come round to the Burrow so Harry could talk to everyone together. He had not asked about Hermione. He knew that she and Ron had had quite a few arguments recently. He hoped that if nothing else, Ginny's passing may help them put aside their differences for the time being.

With all the Weasleys now assembled, Harry felt this was perhaps not such a good idea. He wasn't sure he could face all of them at once. It would have made more sense to speak to them individually.

"Er," Harry began. "Right, well, first off, I'm sorry about Ginny." It felt stupid to be saying it. As if that didn't come even close to making up for the loss of someone as wonderful as her, but he supposed it was the only way to start. "Look, I know it's very soon, but I'd like to get the investigation going as quickly as possible. I'll need to take statements from all of you, of course. Just about anything you can tell me. We should probably do this individually..."

"Don't be silly, Harry," Arthur interrupted. "We're a family. We have no secrets here." Harry felt a little put out. Normally, he would never have agreed to taking individual statements with so many witnesses, but he guessed that he had no choice. He'd never be able to handle it if one of them broke down whilst talking to him alone, anyway.

"Okay, well, I'll start with you, Mr Weasley," Harry said, pulling out his quill and notepad.

"Arthur, my boy," the older man said, looking slightly hurt.

"Sorry, Arthur," Harry said. He had wanted to keep things formal, to try and distance himself from the family and grant himself a different perspective. The family as a whole wasn't going to make this easy for him.

"Well, first off, why was Ginny at Malfoy's flat to begin with? Do any of you know?" Harry asked. He looked around at the Weasleys. They all shifted slightly.

"What?" Harry asked.

"They were dating," Ron said. Harry snapped around to look at his friend. Well, he supposed that explained why the two of them were found together. He took a moment to absorb this, before turning to ask another question.

"And, erm, Arthur, what did you think of that?" Harry asked.

"Why pick on Dad?" Bill snapped. "Why pick him out when you could just ask all of us how we feel?"

"This is an investigation," Harry said, suddenly wishing that he had let someone like Vaisey handle the case instead. "I have to ask each person individually."

"It's fine, Bill," Arthur assured him. "To tell you the truth, Harry, I was not pleased. There were some very big arguments, and I believe we all said things we did not mean. I was enraged. To see my daughter in the arms of that... that monster."

"Malfoy was a Healer at St Mungo's," Harry reminded him. "Surely he can't be a monster if he spends his life saving people's lives."

"That's exactly what she said," Arthur said. "You know, you two were so alike..."

Harry suddenly felt the tears welling up. He blinked them back, feeling like he could not do with another reminder of how close the two of them had been. They hadn't spoken in a while though. It must have been at least six months.

"How long were they together?" Harry asked.

"As far as we know, a few months," Bill said. "She only told us a few weeks ago. She brought him to dinner, thinking we'd be pleased."

"Arthur," Harry said. "I'd like it, if that's okay with you, if you could describe to me everything that happened that night."

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	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: his story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. Even this disclaimer was nicked off another website**

###

_Three weeks ago:_

"Scared?"

He looked at her as if he knew that she didn't even need to ask. She knew meeting your girlfriend's parents for the first time wasn't supposed to be easy, especially when five brothers were added to the equation.

When Ginny had first told her parents that she was bringing her "new" boyfriend over, she had assumed it would just be the four of them. When she found out the rest of the family had been summoned he had wanted to call the whole thing off. Draco, however, was not about to back out. He was tired of running around behind everyone's backs.

"You'll be fine," Ginny said. "I'm sure they'll love you as much as I do."

Ginny could tell straight off that Draco did not necessarily agree with her. She had to concede, he was probably right.

"Okay, well, if they don't like you, then fuck them," Ginny added. Draco looked a bit more comforted by this and worked up the courage to bang on the front door.

"Mum, Ginny's here!" someone, probably George, shouted. The door swung open to reveal the now familiar mass of hair that was George Weasley.

"George!" Ginny exclaimed, throwing her arms around him before he had a chance to say anything. Draco stood behind as Ginny and George exchanged greetings. When they separated ,George looked at Draco for the first time.

"Ginny, I don't want to alarm you, but I think Malfoy followed you home," George said.

"I invited him," Ginny said with a roll of her eyes. "Come on Draco, I want you to meet my parents next." She grabbed his hand to lead him in through the door, but when his hand wouldn't move any more she turned back to see George had his arm across the door to deny Draco entry.

"Ginny, what's going on?" George demanded.

"George, let him go!" Ginny snapped. She shoved his arm out of the way to pull Draco into the house. George snapped right back around and grabbed him again.

"No, I won't allow it in my house!"

"Excuse me!" Ginny snapped. "That _it_ is my boyfriend. And this isn't your house anymore." She pulled Draco into the living room, where her other brothers had all gathered with Hermione, Fleur and her father. Her father got up from the armchair.

"Ginny, what is going on?" he demanded. Ginny felt Draco gently tugging her closer to him.

"Dad, everyone, this is my boyfriend," she said. "I know it's a bit of a shock, but since I-"

"No!" her father said sternly. Ginny felt stunned. Draco had his hand in his pocket. Ginny hoped it wasn't on his wand. That most certainly would not help matters.

"No?" she asked.

"That's right, no," her father repeated, totally unperturbed. "He is not your boyfriend. I will not allow my daughter to date a monster like that."

"_Monster_?" Ginny repeated.

"Ginny," Draco pleaded.

"He's a Healer!" Ginny snapped. "He even treated me, or don't you remember?"

"He's also a Death Eater," Bill interjected.

"There aren't any Death Eaters anymore," Ginny replied. "And he's sorry for what he's done."

"Oh, he's _sorry_," Percy muttered. "Well, that makes it okay to murder someone."

"He never murdered anyone!"

"He sat back and watched as they tortured Hermione," Ron hissed.

"What could he have done against Death Eaters? Should he have died to save your girlfriend, Ron?"

"What about everything he did to us at school?" Hermione asked. "Everything he did to Harry? How could you do this to Harry?"

"So this is about a grudge you had at school? Grow up!"

"His father tried to kill you!"

Everyone snapped around to look at her father again.

"How _dare_ you?" Ginny took a step forward, but Draco pulled her back, drawing her against his chest.

"I'm not my father," Draco said.

Ginny had expected a little hostility, but she'd at least expected that her family loved her enough to hear the argument out.

"Get him out," Ron snapped, stepping forward and shoving Draco. Draco stumbled slightly, but his wand was out and pointed straight at Ron's forehead. The others in the room whipped their wands out, and Draco was outnumbered six wands to one.

Ginny grabbed his wand arm, lowering it gently. No other wand moved.

"Draco, keep calm," she whispered in his ear. She turned to her family. "Can we not talk about this?"

"We will talk when he is out of my house," her father said sternly.

"If he leaves," Ginny said, looking around at them. "Then I do too." None of them said anything.

At this point her mother finally bustled in.

"What is going on here?" she demanded. Ginny felt her heart soar. Surely her mother would agree with her.

"Mum, this is Draco, he's my boyfriend," she said. Her mother looked at Draco for a moment. Ginny remembered the way her mother had always looked at Harry. It was like a completely different person currently looking at Draco.

"What is... is this a joke?" her mother asked, with a false smile. "Yes, very amusing dear. You had me worried for a moment there." She gave a large, false laugh. The Weasley men assembled all looked uneasy.

"No, mum," Ginny said, pleading with her to understand. "It's real. I... I love him. Why are you all being so hostile."

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY SISTER, YOU BASTARD!?" Ron suddenly roared, moving towards Malfoy his wand raised. Ginny spun around to place herself between Ron and Draco.

"He's done nothing!" Ginny replied, feeling her own anger rising. "It's not like I'm under the _Imperius _or something! Harry taught me to resist that. You remember?"

"What about a love potion?" George stepped forward now as well. Ginny was having trouble keeping herself between Draco and her brother. Somehow they'd been drawn out into the middle of the room, with nowhere to hide.

"No... no," she pleaded. "Don't do this."

"Step out of the way, Ginny," Percy commanded. Ginny felt suddenly scared. Of all her brothers, she had hoped that the ever calm Percy would not lose his cool.

"What are you going to do?" she whispered.

"Ginny," Draco pleaded. She felt his arm wrap around her waist as he pulled her back against his chest. "I love you," he whispered.

Why was he whispering like he was about to be killed?

It was Hermione who struck. All Ginny saw of it was a flash of blue fizzing past her shoulder and Draco screamed. He stumbled off of her, and Ginny caught sight of the left half of his face burning red hot.

Draco's wand flashed out anyway. Hermione was hit with a stunning charm from his wand before anyone could do anything. Suddenly curses were flying everywhere. Ginny drew up a shield charm as fast as she could, moving close to Draco, who sent a few curses towards the door, clearing the way.

She didn't know where it came from, but suddenly she felt a curse get through the shield, and there was pain like she'd never known before. Blood was suddenly gushing from her stomach. She dropped to her knees, suddenly unable to hear anything. Her world began to spin, and she for a brief moment she heard the screams of a baby.

"I'm sorry, James," she whispered.

The blackness was overwhelming her, and the more she gave into it the more the pain seemed to fade. She allowed herself to close her eyes, and the pain was gone completely.

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	5. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter was created and is owned by JK Rowling**

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"So, Draco and Ginny showed up, you all had an argument. There was some shouting and a bit of shoving, but you never drew your wands or anything?" Harry asked, summarising the story he'd just been told. The Weasleys all nodded. Molly was still sobbing a little.

"That was the last time you saw her, right?" Harry asked. Several heads seemed to go down.

"Yes," Molly said. "That was the last time I saw my daughter."

"Which one of you identified the body?" Harry asked.

"It was me," Ron told him.

"We're waiting for the coroner to examine it, but she'll be released soon," Harry assured them. "I am so sorry." Now he felt himself welling up a bit.

He stood up to leave. "I'll go now. I'll have to get a statement from the Malfoys."

"The Malfoys?" Arthur snapped, his head firing up. "You don't think Lucius could have done something like this, do you?"

"At the moment it seems no more likely than you doing it," Harry admitted. Arthur seemed not to pick up on Harry's remark.

"Harry, if Lucius Malfoy killed my daughter..." Arthur began, but Harry cut him off.

"You won't do anything to him," Harry said sternly. "If he killed them, then you'll never find enough of him to do anything to once I'm done with him."

###

Rather than go to the Malfoy straight away, Harry went to visit Hermione. He figured that since she was present at the dinner she ought to give a brief statement. Harry didn't know why, but something about their account didn't quite fit. Of course, if something had happened, he knew Hermione was smarter than to give it away. Still, it was worth visiting an old friend.

Hermione worked directly under Minister Shacklebolt at the moment. She was Junior Undersecretary, a position once held by Percy, before he'd gone off to help run the Weasley Wizard Wheezes with George. This unfortunately meant that Harry had to come face-to-face with Shacklebolt, who would probably not be impressed that it was Harry investigating the case.

"Hermione," Harry said, walking up to the desk where Hermione was scribbling frantically. Her head shot up and she smiled. It didn't spread as far as her eyes, which were red and swollen.

"Harry!" she exclaimed, rushing around her desk to embrace him.

The door to the Minister for Magic's office opened fairly quickly and the tall, imposing form of Kingsley Shacklebolt stepped out. Hermione quickly sprang away from Harry.

"Harry, how are you?" Shacklebolt asked, shaking Harry's hand.

"I've had better days," Harry admitted. Shacklebolt's smile faded.

"About that, Harry. I have spoken with the other senior Aurors, and they all assure me that you are the best man for the job. But, and this is important, if for one second I think that you are too involved in this case I will pull you from it myself, is that clear?"

"Of course."

Shacklebolt's smile returned.

"Miss Granger. I believe I offered you the rest of the week off. Please, at least take today to catch up with your old friend."

"Oh, but Minister, I have so much work to get done!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Nonsense, Hermione," Shacklebolt replied. "We will manage for one day without you. Please, go with Mr Potter."

Hermione was still rather reluctant to go with Harry, but eventually he managed to get her back to his cubicle in the Auror Department, where he fetched two cups of coffee from the staff room.

"Sorry, it's a bit of a mess," Harry admitted when he returned to the cubicle to find Hermione behind his desk and sorting through papers. Harry was thankful to return in time to prevent her from going through his drawers and finding the photographs of the crime scene, least it upset her.

"Hermione," Harry said. "I know this is hard for you, but I need you to tell me what happened the night Draco and Ginny came to the Burrow."

"Harry," she whispered. "Oh, Harry, it's far too soon. I can't bring myself to think about it." Harry reached across the desk and took her hand in his own.

"Hermione, please. I know it's hard, but I have to find out who killed her, and to do that I need every bit of information I can get."

"You think one of us did it?" Hermione gasped.

"No," Harry assured her. "But I need to know everything."

Hermione reluctantly agreed, and told him something similar to the story that the Weasleys had told him earlier. All the critical details seemed the same.

"Did Ginny or Malfoy say anything before they left?" Harry asked.

"I can't remember," Hermione told him. Harry nodded. At that point another of the Aurors, a kid named Chapman, announced his arrival with a cough.

"Just so you know, Mr Potter, the coroner is ready to give his report when you are," Chapman said. Harry gave a nod and dismissed him.

"With any luck we'll be able to get the body home today," Harry said. "I'll see you soon, Hermione. Take care." He kissed her on the cheek before he left.

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	6. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter was created by JK Rowling**

###

The coroner was known to all as Phillips. He had been here for as long as most of the senior staff could remember. He was a tall, skinny, balding man who wore a pair of thick glasses not unlike Harry's.

"Potter, nice to see you," Phillips said, shaking Harry's hand. "Just give your hands a bit of a wash and pop on those gloves, there's a good lad."

Harry complied, feeling awed as ever in the presence of a man who knew more about dead bodies than any man ought to.

"Right, Mr Potter, I have all this on file for you, but I'll run through it, shall I?" Phillips began. He lead Harry through to a room with no windows, lit well by several lights and hosting two cold, metal tables in the middle of the room, where the two deceased lay. They had been cleaned up a considerable amount, and the heads had been stitched back on to their bodies. Their modesty was protected by white sheets. They looked a lot more peaceful now. Harry blinked back tears for Ginny, while Phillips carried on as though he hadn't noticed.

"Both were killed by decapitation," Phillips said. "Death was pretty much instant in both cases. I suspect some variant of a severing charm, but I haven't been able to find any one that would cut clean through a human neck in one stroke. We checked the scene for evidence of the attacker, but we found nothing. Everything was covered in their body anyway.

"The girl's left hand is broken, and it looks very recent. Possibly in the attack. From the samples we took from her we can see she was taking birth control, but we double-checked and she's definitely not pregnant. Other than that, no meds or drugs or anything, really. They were clean."

"What can you tell me about how they died?" Harry asked, determined to look at Malfoy. "Other than the mysterious severing charm."

"Well, there was a struggle in the flat. A couple of things were knocked over and all that. That and the trauma they suffered makes me think they were held down whilst they were killed. Held down by people. Not by magic."

"By people?" Harry asked, feeling utterly appalled.

"At least two people held each of them down while another must have performed the charm," Phillips said. "I know this is your job, Potter, but this looks a lot like an execution."

"I know, but so far I'm drawing a total blank," Harry said, pacing around Malfoy's body. "So, we have nothing that the attacker left behind. We have no motive and no evidence. Perfect." He turned to Phillips again. "How would we go about finding the charm that did it?"

"Find a severing charm that can cut through bone," Phillips replied bluntly. "I've never heard of one that could, so it must be fairly rare."

"I know one," Harry said. "Sectumsempra. Got it from a particularly nasty book." He grimaced a little at the thought. "Took a Death Eater's leg clean off two years ago. I'd used it on him once." He gestured to Malfoy's body. "Did nowhere near that much damage though. You can't even see the scars."

"Sectumsempra," Phillips repeated. "I've never heard of it."

"It was Severus Snape's speciality," Harry said. Phillips nodded in understanding.

"Ah, so in other words, the only people likely to know it are Death Eaters?" Phillips asked.

"Or the Order of the Phoenix," Harry said, voicing his very worst fear.

They were silent for a long time.

"When can she come home?" Harry asked.

"I'll finish cleaning her up tonight, and they'll both be returned tomorrow morning," Phillips told him. He paused for a moment. "Shall I give you a moment alone?"

Silence.

Phillips took his cue and left. Harry finally allowed himself to look at Ginny again.

Before he knew it the tears were pouring out of him again. He fell to his knees and beside Ginny he wept. Who could possibly have done this to his girl? His beautiful, sweet, loving Ginny.

"Christ, Ginny, how can I do this without you?" he asked her. "Fuck, I love you so much."

It was that moment that he recalled every other night he had cried for her. Every night that he had wished and prayed that one day they would be together again, and that he would be able to hold her in his arms and kiss her again and again until she knew how much she had made his life worth living.

But now that dream could never come true. And Harry was going to find who did this. He vowed then and there that he would avenge her. He would bring whoever did this to justice...

To do that, he was going to first have to speak to Lucius Malfoy.

###


	7. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: his story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.**

###

_Two weeks, five days ago:_

He'd often told his patients that doing the dishes could be therapeutic. Apparently it helped to relieve stress. Of course, he'd personally always believed that doing tasks he would normally relegate to a House Elf couldn't possibly be of any use when what you really wanted was to throw all the plates against the wall and scream.

Yet Draco was now before the sink. Before he'd met Ginny, he'd never even done his own dishes. It had seemed so much simpler just to buy disposable plates and toss those out when he was done with them.

He'd grown up a lot now. Now that he had a girl living in his flat he made much more of an effort to clean the place. He thought briefly back to their memorable first date. He'd spent the whole walk back to his flat trying desperately to think of some excuse not to let her into the flat. He'd failed, of course. Well, she was all over him at the time. He was hardly going to say no.

It had been nearly a year ago. It was so hard to believe. They'd originally told each other that they didn't want to tell their families too soon for fear of upsetting them unnecessarily. Draco was particularly concerned about what Ginny's brothers would have to say if they wound up breaking up.

But the months had gone by, and breaking up had seemed a lot less likely. Ginny had been coming over so much that Draco had eventually bit the bullet and asked her to move in with him.

It had been then that he'd decided it was time to break the news to the families. He couldn't pop the question without the families at least knowing they were together.

A groan from the bedroom interrupted his dish-washing. He grabbed a dishtowel and dashed to the room as he dried his hands. His patient was waking up at last.

"Did I get hit by a Bludger on the head again?" Ginny asked, squinting at him.

"Oh, compared to this, the Bludgers were tame," Draco said with a grin. He had pulled his wand out and began checking her over as he explained what had happened after she left.

"Who cursed me then?" Ginny asked.

"It was Weasley, I think," Draco said. He smiled when Ginny slapped him on the arm. "At least you still have strength enough to abuse me," he added with a wink. "It was Ron." Ginny nodded.

"And-."

"It was Sectumsempra," Draco cut her off. "I didn't actually see Ron casting it, but I figured Potter would have taught him. I slipped you a few Blood-Replenishing Potions while you were asleep. You should be fine." He placed his wand on the bedside cabinet. Ginny sat up a little, ignoring Draco's protests, and took his hands in her own.

"I have a good Healer," she told him, bringing Draco's right hand up to her mouth and kissing it. "With wonderful hands." She continued kissing his hands, glancing up at his face to gauge his reaction.

"Ginny, you're not well enough," Draco tried to tell her.

"Please, Draco," she pleaded. "I don't want to think about my family right now. I never thought they'd react like that."

"Well, if my father takes it half that well, we'll be in business," Draco joked. Ginny didn't laugh, however. She lowered his hands from her mouth. She looked very small at that moment.

"They might never be okay with this," she said. Draco moved over to her, taking his hands out of her grasp to hug her close to him.

"Hey," he whispered, rocking her slowly. "It'll be alright. If they don't approve, fuck them, right? We'll work it out. What's best for us."

They stayed that way for a long time, holding each other in the silence.

###

Percy Weasley stood and admired the entrance hall of Malfoy Manor. The last time a Weasley had entered this house it would have been Ron, who was held at wand-point by Death Eaters at the time.

But Lucius Malfoy had someone managed to keep Malfoy Manor. He'd cut a deal with the Ministry of Magic after Voldemort's defeat, which lead to him getting a reduced sentence in Azkaban and allowed his family to keep the manor and most of their gold.

Percy had had to call in every favour he had at the Ministry to arrange a meeting with Lucius. The man was secretive at the best of times, these days. He contributed quite frequently to various charities, but other than that he contacted pretty much no one.

"Ah, Master Weasley," Lucius said, announcing his presence. Percy saw that he was standing at the top of the stairs, looking down on him. Percy was not stupid. He understood that this gesture was in place so that he knew his place in this conversation.

Lucius came down the stairs to shake Percy's hand. If the man was in any way annoyed by the presence of a Weasley in his house he was certainly betraying nothing on his face.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" Lucius asked. Percy noted he was not being asked into somewhere more comfortable. Lucius wanted this conversation over quickly.

"Have you spoken to your son recently?" Percy asked. Lucius looked intrigued.

"Well, the boy was babbling something about wanting Narcissa and I to meet his girlfriend," Lucius said, pacing around Percy, who turned. He was not about to let Malfoy get around at his back. "I'm guessing that is why you are here?"

"Correct," Percy said, allowing Lucius to do the maths on his own.

"Well, this is an interesting development," Lucius said, placing a hand to his chin as if deep in thought. "When he had not instantly told me the young woman's name I had feared he had betrayed his ideals and was dating a Mudblood." Percy winced.

"You would agree, perhaps, that this is much worse?" Percy asked.

"It will require much soul-searching on my part," Lucius said. "Once upon a time I pushed the boy towards obeying the whims of a madman. It is understandable he would lash out. I must think my words through carefully. Perhaps a strongly worded talking to is in order."

"With all due respect, sir, I think it will take more than that. You see, there was already an incident at the Burrow."

Lucius gave a smile.

"Ah, so you have met the happy couple?" Lucius said. "Well, what would you suggest?"

Percy looked straight at Lucius. From this moment there would be no turning back.

"Mr Malfoy, you have studied Muggles quite a lot, as I understand. Perhaps for the wrong reasons, but there is an interesting aspect of a particular Muggle culture that I would like to discuss with you."

###

"And your family has agreed to this?" Lucius asked.

"Not yet," Percy told him. "But I believe you and I could persuade them."


	8. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling**

###

Harry was at least smart enough to know better than to walk into Malfoy Manor alone. His usual partner would have been Ron, but under the circumstances he brought a slightly younger Auror with him. Vaisey had been a Slytherin a few years below him at school, and had shown some promise as an Auror. And you never knew when a Slytherin would come in handy.

"You dated Weasley, right?" Vaisey had asked as they approached the Manor.

"Yes," Harry grunted in response.

"Well, you were involved with one of the victims. Surely it's against protocol to let you take on this case."

Harry suddenly wished that he had come alone.

"So, what can you tell me about your relationship with Weasley? It didn't end well, did it?"

Harry suddenly wheeled around to face Vaisey. He pulled himself up to his full height, yet somehow Vaisey still had a good few inches on him. He had a soft face. Harry was more used to Slytherins displaying the hard, pointed features of Malfoy.

"Listen, Vaisey, I am not under investigation here," Harry snapped at him. "I'll be asking the questions. You just have to stand behind me and look pretty."

"It's what I'm good at," Vaisey said, running a hand through his hair.

Harry marched up to the massive front doors of the Manor and knocked. They swung open, as if by their own power. Apparently, Lucius was playing his mind games before he'd even stepped into the property.

Lucius had a characteristically grand entrance planned. The House Elf introduced him, and the older man descended the stairs to great them.

"To what do I owe the pleasure, Mr Potter?" Lucius asked, thankfully cutting right to the chase.

"Well, Mr Malfoy, even you could not have failed to notice that your son was murdered," Harry replied.

"Oh, Mr Potter, you charge into my house uninvited, insult my intelligence and make jokes about my recent loss. You wound me, Mr Potter," Lucius drawled. Harry knew better, of course. Lucius did not look the least bit phased by Harry's statement.

"Perhaps, Mr Malfoy, we ought to be discussing such matters in a more comfortable location," Vaisey suggested. Harry shot him a glare, but Lucius agreed, though he didn't look pleased about it.

"Of course, where are my manners?" Lucius asked. "How... foolish... of me, not to think to at least offer a fellow Slytherin a drink. Come, you and your associate are most welcome in my house."

Lucius led them through into a parlour room, where the two were seated on a comfortable sofa. Vaisey slumped back and accepted Lucius' offer of wine with gusto. Harry sat upright, and was less than keen to accept anything Lucius Malfoy would offer him.

"So, Mr Malfoy, when was the last time you saw your son?" Harry asked, his own glass of wine forgotten on the table.

"A few weeks ago, I'm afraid," Lucius replied, leaning back in his own armchair and taking a sip of wine. He licked his lips for a moment. "Yes, he was rather excited that he had recently entered a relationship with a lovely young woman."

"Ginny Weasley?" Harry asked. Lucius flinched slightly.

"Yes... _That one_," he said with distaste.

"How did you feel about that?" Harry pressed. Lucius took a long time to answer.

"Well, I was... somewhat surprised. But still, one must always put his child's happiness first and foremost."

Vaisey was nodding along like an idiot, but Harry was unconvinced.

"Your son didn't have any enemies, did he?" Harry asked.

"Besides you?" Lucius replied with a snort. Vaisey chuckled as well, and Harry snapped his head around to shoot a dirty look at him.

"Mr Malfoy, please answer the question."

"Oh, no, of course not," Lucius answered. "There are very few people that see a Healer as much of a threat. Very often they're not worth being enemies with."

"What do you mean by that?" Harry asked, not missing a beat. "Did you not approve of your son's profession?"

"He and I may have discussed it, at length," Lucius admitted, taking another sip of wine. "But what I meant was that most people would prefer to have a Healer as a friend, rather than an enemy. Very handy people to know."

"I dated a Healer for a while," Vaisey said. "She was the dullest person alive, but she wasn't a half bad fuck."

"Vaisey, you are a professional," Harry snapped at him. "Act like one."

Vaisey mumbled his apologies and set his glass of wine on the table. Harry turned back to Lucius.

"So, Mr Malfoy, where were you two days ago, when your son was killed?" Harry asked.

"I was here, with Narcissa," Lucius answered calmly. "She's upstairs, if you'd like to speak to her. She's very upset. Awfully painful for a mother to lose her son. I'm sure your aunt could tell you. I heard your cousin passed away recently."

Harry would not have thought that he would have felt much emotion finding out a member of the Dursleys had died, however he felt quite annoyed that Lucius might have known before he did. He made a note to follow it up.

"So, is it standard procedure to ask the families if they murdered their children?" Lucius asked. Harry was about to snap something at him, but Vaisey was the one who answered.

"The Weasley have all given statements as well," Vaisey confirmed.

"Ah, yes, of course," Lucius said. "And, naturally, all of their whereabouts are accounted for?"

Harry felt his anger rising. It was probably because Harry had allowed such thoughts about the Weasleys to cross his mind before.

"They are, actually," Harry said. "I don't know what you're implying, Mr Malfoy."

"Yes, you do," Lucius said smugly. "I'll bet that the Weasley males all told you they were fishing, or something like that. Something _convenient_ like that."

"I can't comment on such aspects of our investigation," Harry said through gritted teeth.

"Of course not." Lucius smiled, and looked at Vaisey. Harry made a note not to leave Vaisey alone with Lucius, least the older man weasel details of the whole investigation out of the younger Auror.

"Let's go and speak with your wife then," Harry announced.

###


	9. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling**

###

She was watching him again. He knew that even before he opened his eyes. It seemed like every morning he would wake up and she'd be there, just watching him sleep. It was a very satisfying way to wake up.

He wanted to lie there. He knew that she loved watching him like this... at peace. But he couldn't contain himself any longer. He just couldn't resist looking at her.

He opened his eyes, but she wasn't there.

Harry snapped up out of the bed, looking around for his girlfriend, but there was no sign of her.

It took him a few moments to remember where he was. Everything that had happened.

He lay back down on the bed, pulling a pillow close to his chest and hugging it tightly. She was gone. She was dead.

For a long time he clung to the pillow. He would not cry. Not yet.

###

When Shacklebolt had found out Vaisey was helping Harry in the investigation he had apparently been delighted. As Ron was still on leave, he even had Vaisey transferred to the cubicle next to Harry's to assist in the process.

Harry, however, did not think this was a particularly good thing. Vaisey seemed to think of him as one of the prime suspects. So he kept a fairly close eye on Harry to check for anything "suspicious," but Harry was, by nature, a fairly secretive person. He did not appreciate Vaisey's head appearing over the walls of the cubicle...

Especially when the cubicle in question happened to contain a toilet.

"Right, this is getting us nowhere," Harry said, finally giving up on analysing statements taking from the other residents of the building. "No one heard or saw anything. Obviously they weren't stupid enough not to use Silencing Charms."

"So, what do we try then?" Vaisey asked.

"We'll check out the flat again. Maybe the team missed something."

Vaisey raised an eyebrow. "The team are a group of people trained to find evidence. What are they going to miss that you, a combat Auror with only basic detective skills, will find?"

"Hey, I've been cracking mysteries since my first year at Hogwarts," Harry pointed out.

"Yeah, because you had Granger. All you and Weasley would have had to do was stand about scratching your own hairy arses and leave all the actual thinking to the Mud-."

"If you dare call my best friend what I think you're going to call her I'll kill you right here," Harry snapped. "And I am your superior here, Vaisey. If I say we're going to Ginny's flat, then we're fucking well going to Ginny's flat."

###

Vaisey had not made it three steps into the flat before he had to turn around and vomit in one of the bins. Harry felt a little queasy as well. Apparently, there hadn't been time to properly clean it. There was still quite a lot of blood over where the sofas were, particularly on the formerly cream-coloured pouffe.

Harry suddenly felt overwhelmed with emotion. This was where Ginny had lived out her last days. Harry had never known about Malfoy. He wondered if Ginny had thought it had been worth it, before she died. Had it been worth dating Malfoy, and being disowned by her entire family? And had it been what had eventually got her killed?

No, that was a dangerous line of thought. He was here as a professional.

"I'll start having a look around," Harry said to Vaisey, who was still hunched over a wicker bin. "You join me when your stomach settles." Vaisey gave him a thumbs up, but he didn't look up from the bin.

Harry's first idea was to check the living room itself. There was the cream sofa and pouffe, pointed at a Muggle television set. The power was on, so, unless one of the team that had investigated the flat had stopped to watch television, that meant that Ginny and Malfoy could have been watching television when their attackers burst in.

Harry had not thought to check the mode of entry. He didn't remember it being in the report, but he'd come, over time, to assume that _Alohamora_ would open most doors. He walked over to the door, checking it for any signs of damage.

Malfoy was from quite an old family. It wouldn't be a complete stretch that he might know a few old warding spells he could put on his door to prevent any unwanted visitors. Harry whipped his own wand out to run it across the area. It hummed a lime green.

"What's with the door?" Vaisey asked.

"Scanning for magic," Harry said. "Actually, for old wards. Bill Weasley used to be a Curse-Breaker. He taught me a few spells for detecting traps and such."

"And?"

"Well, there _were_ definitely a few spells on this door, but they're been completely removed."

"Well, if you knew the counter-curse..."

"No, to know the counter-curse you would need to know what the curse was in the first place. The only way you'd know that was if you knew the victim or-."

"Or if you'd been taught how to detect curses by a Curse-Breaker," Vaisey finished. Harry scowled at him.

"You go back to your bin. I'll keep looking around."

He tried the kitchen next. He really didn't expect to find anything, since the attack seemed to be confined to the living room. A few dirty dishes in the sink, and the milk in the fridge had gone off, but other than that everything seemed normal.

He wandered back through to the living room, only to notice that Vaisey had apparently made his way into the bedroom.

"Vaisey, what are you doing?" Harry called.

"Come check this out! Weasley has some fucking sweet underwear!"

Harry had his wand out in a flash, and stormed into the room fully prepared to go to Azkaban for what he was about to do to Vaisey when he stopped. Sitting right on top of the dresser where Vaisey was now engrossed was a small box. Harry stepped forward slowly. As he reached for the box he startled Vaisey, who leapt back and scurried over behind the bed.

Harry picked up the box and looked inside. It was an engagement ring.

Malfoy had been going to propose.

Harry dropped down beside the dresser, pulled his legs up to his chest as he looked at the ring. It was a bit smaller than the one he had bought. He had stayed awake and wondered how his life would have gone had he asked Ginny to marry him before that argument.

And, would she have married Malfoy, had she asked now?

Harry's head dropped to onto his knees. It wasn't fair. Ginny and Malfoy probably had their fair share of enemies, but Harry still could not for the life of him imagine who could have come in and murder two lovers like this. And he had absolutely no evidence. It wasn't like the Death Eaters, who usually left a big skull floating above their victims. These attackers had left no traces of fingerprints, or hair, or...

_Wait a minute._

_Hair?_

###


	10. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling**

###

_Five days ago_

Percy was severely shaken up. He had thought saving Ron for last would be a good choice. Now that he thought about it again, he wasn't sure he had the energy to do this. But Ron was an Auror. He was the one that they had to have. They could have done this without anyone else, but they needed Ron's support.

Percy glanced down at the file in his hand. Lucius Malfoy had some interesting contacts in the Muggle world. He only hoped it would be enough to persuade Ron.

He knocked on the door. It was Ron that answered. After the incident at the Burrow a few weeks ago, Hermione at been staying with a girl she had been staying with a friend. Percy didn't remember hearing about Hermione having friends other than Ron or Harry, but he supposed he didn't know everything about her.

"Ron, how are you?" Percy asked.

"I've been better," Ron grunted. Percy agreed. Ron had not shaved in several days and coarse, dark red hairs stuck out of his chin, along with his unkempt hair and a shirt Percy suspected had been picked up off the floor only for the purpose of answering the door.

Ron invited Percy in to the house. The house seemed largely clean enough. Ron had probably thought that his chances of reconciling with Hermione would be improved if the house was not a total mess when she got home.

Percy went through to the sofa while Ron fetched a couple of bottles of Butterbeer. Percy accepted it, hoping it would help his nerves.

"Ron, there's something I need to discuss with you," Percy began. "It's a matter of family honour."

"Fire away," Ron said, though his eyes narrowed. Perhaps he did not approve of someone who had previously walked out on the family now talking about its honour. Percy was inclined to agree with him, but this had to be done.

"It's about Ginny and Malfoy," Percy said. "I have spoken to, er, another interested party."

"Lucius Malfoy," Ron said without emotion. Percy's surprise must have shown. "What? Are you surprised I'm keeping track of Malfoy Manor? Ginny and Malfoy haven't been to visit him yet. Not even a Floo call."

"Yes, well," Percy began, before clearing his throat. "Well, the thing is, Lucius and I have come to an agreement. This union between a Malfoy and a Weasley is not beneficial to anyone. We would like to do something about it."

"Do what?" Ron asked. "Ginny is a passionate person. She's not going to take it well if we barge in there and tell her she can't date that ferret."

"Yes, of course. But what I'm proposing is something a little bit more, um, severe than a strict talking to."

For a moment Ron seemed not to understand, until his eyes flashed and he shot to his feet, bearing down on Percy.

"You can't be serious!" Ron snapped. "Kill Malfoy?"

"Well, you tried it once before," Percy pointed out, shooting to his feet to match Ron. Ron still stood a few inches taller, but at least he didn't feel quite so dwarfed. "At the Burrow you cast a curse at him!"

"And nearly killed Ginny!" Ron shouted.

"Yes, but that won't happen this time!" Percy assured him. Ron turned to take a few paces away from Percy.

"How could Lucius Malfoy agree to killing his own son?" Ron asked, not even looking at Percy.

"Yes, the thing about that," Percy said. "Ginny would need to be, er, punished as well."

"But you just said-!"

"Yes, but that would be Lucius Malfoy's job. We would deal with Draco."

"Our own little sister!" Ron shouted. He hurled the Butterbeer bottle to the side where it smashed off the wall and stormed forward to grab Percy and pull him closer. "How could you even think about it!?"

"Ron, you might think differently, once you've read this," Percy said, trying to bring the Muggle file between then. Ron quickly threw him backwards, grabbing the folder in the process and opening it up.

All emotion seemed to die in him as he read on. Percy sat for a long time. So long that he was sure Ron must have finished reading long ago.

"Do you know what this means, Ron?" Percy asked.

"She... a baby," Ron choked out.

"That's right. She _murdered_ a baby," Percy said. He was not proud of this, but it had to be done. "She started dating Malfoy about that time, didn't she?"

Ron obviously got the hint in his statement. The folder fell from his hands. He dropped into an armchair, where he rested his head upon those same hangs.

"Ron, are you with us?" Percy asked. "Everyone has agreed. All we need is your support."

Ron looked up at him again. His eyes looked almost dead.

"When do we start?" he asked.

###


	11. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling**

###

_Three days ago_

Lucius Malfoy. Bill Weasley. Charlie Weasley. Percy Weasley. George Weasley. Ron Weasley.

_How had it come to this?_

Lucius Malfoy was the leader. He had made sure no one was in any doubt about that. They were moving out on his signal. He had obtained the information that the pair would be home at that time.

Ron almost couldn't believe all this was happening. He couldn't believe his sister would betray them like this. He couldn't believe that he'd gotten caught up in all this.

There was no going back when Lucius Malfoy summoned them.

They had all Apparated to different points, each an equal walking distance from the block of flats. It was almost as if Percy and Lucius had had a lot longer to plan this than they'd let on.

Ron had been trying to keep a brisk pace. Of course, he had no idea what he'd do if he got there first. He was saved from having to find out by Lucius Malfoy, who somehow managed to draw alongside him and still look effortless.

"It has been a long time," Lucius said. "A long time since I've done something like this. I miss the good old days."

"If you've any more confessions like that, you can swing by the Auror department later, and I'll write them down," Ron said. Lucius gave a chuckle.

"Now, Mr Weasley, today you and I are accomplices."

"We aren't Death Eaters."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night."

Ron did not respond to that. Soon they arrived at the block of the flats, their wands out. The others were there almost in the same instant. They said nothing. They had planned this all through.

Bill waved his wand and opened the front door. The six men walked calmly into the building. Before they'd even set foot in the building the Muggle cameras in the building had all shut down by George's wand. Charlie had cast the spell that silenced their movements.

They walked calmly up the stairs, brushing past a young woman who had forgotten about them before she reached the bottom step. Lucius took the lead position, making a sweeping motion with his cloak every time he turned around a corner, until eventually they reached the fourth floor. Ron moved to step and take the lead, but Lucius put an arm out.

"Patience," Lucius said, pulling his wand with the other hand. "This will only take a moment."

Lucius knew every ward his son had placed on the door. Even so, he was more than content to let Ron enter first. Percy and George moved up behind him, wands at the ready. Ron twisted the knob...

Percy and George seemed to be through the door before they even opened it. There was a flash as two wands sailed away from the sofa, and the couple entwined there sprung from their chairs.

"What's-?" Ginny began, but she never finished. Percy and George were already racing forward and had grabbed Malfoy, pulling him down to slam him across the ottoman. Ginny screamed, but Bill and Charlie had her in their grasp, and they slammed her across the sofa.

"No, no, no, no!" she shrieked, breaking down into tears. "Please, no, don't do this!"

"It is for the best, Ginevra," Lucius said calmly, pushing the door closed behind him.

"What is going on?" Malfoy sobbed.

"You have disappointed me for the last time, my son," Lucius explained. "Ronald, if you would."

Ron stepped forward. His wand already raised above his head. He drew level with Malfoy's head.

"Ron, please," Malfoy begged.

"_Sectumsempra!" _Ron hissed, bringing his wand straight down. Malfoy's head was severed instantly. Ron watched as Malfoy's head rolled across the floor, somehow managing to land at his father's feet. Ginny wailed, but the senior Malfoy did not flinch. He kicked his son's head aside and stepped towards the ottoman.

"And so the Malfoy line ends," he said with no trace of emotion. He perked up a little as he turned to Ginny. "Now, Ginevra, it is your turn."

"Bill, Charlie, I love you," Ginny wept. "Please, why are you doing this?"

They dragged her across from the sofa, kicking over Malfoy's body to place her where he had been moments before.

"Ron, please," Ginny pleaded again. "Why?"

"You have betrayed us," Ron snapped at her. "You had an abortion! You murdered Harry's baby! After all he's been through, all he ever wanted was a family and you took it from him without even asking!"

"Ron, please, I didn't want to hurt anyone," Ginny wept. "I love him."

"Harry, or Malfoy?" Ron demanded. He grabbed her by the hair, pulling her up to look at him. "Who did you love more? Did you love Harry? Or Malfoy? ANSWER ME, YOU WHORE!"

"I loved them both."

"LIAR!" Ron roared. He stamped on her hand, breaking it instantly. "Did you think we wouldn't notice?" He took her limp hand and ripped the engagement ring from her finger.

"Ron, please, I'm your sister. Don't do this."

"_SECTUMSEMPRA!!!"_

And she wept no more. She breathed no more. Ron held her beautiful face in his hands. He looked down upon it, and was surprised at how little he felt. He tossed it to Lucius.

"This is yours," he snapped. Lucius sneered, before moving to deposit it somewhere he deemed suitable.

"We should go," Percy said. "The silencing charms ought to have held, but I don't want to take the chance that someone might have phoned for help. Ron, you'll have to leave the ring."

"No," Ron growled. "People can't know they were engaged. I'll leave the ring, but in his room. Let them think he never asked her." He was talking more to himself at this stage.

He found the box easily, and stuffed it into the first drawer he could find. He returned to the room, and was for a moment taken aback by the carnage that he'd left behind.

"We're all damned," Charlie said, looking around the room. "What have we done?"

"What needed to be done," Ron said. "We stick together now. Mum's going to need us to help her get through this. And the girls."

"What about Harry?" George asked. "Do we tell him?"

"No," Ron replied. "Of course not. What do you think he would do if he would out? It would crush him to know how she betrayed him. We'll bury them separately. I'll make sure someone else takes the case on at the Auror department. There will be no evidence. At worst, they'll check for hair. They'll never be able to tell our hair apart from hers." He couldn't bring himself to say her name.

"Very good, Mr Weasley," Lucius said. "I hope we can work together more in the future." He gestured to allow Ron to leave before him.

"No, Malfoy, you leave first," Ron said. "Then I'll call the Aurors. I don't trust you not to try and plant evidence against us."

"Oh, Mr Weasley," Lucius said with a grin. "You know me too well."

###


	12. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling**

###

Ron would have known. He would have known that the search team wouldn't have bothered to check the hair twice. Charlie kept dragons for a living. He knew a lot about hiding things from Muggles. And Bill could have gotten through any wards on that door, but the task would have been even easier with Lucius Malfoy on their side.

It was all happening so fast. Harry had gone straight to Shacklebolt, who had called evidence up from the Auror Department. Only Vaisey had been present to witness the tests the two ran.

"Yes, they're all Weasley and Malfoy hairs," Shacklebolt confirmed. "But they don't all match each other. There's a lot more variation in the red hairs than the white."

"How many?" Harry asked, wondering how many of them were in on it. He still hoped that Ron, his best friend, could not possibly have been in on it.

"At least six," Shacklebolt said. Harry swore. That accounted for all the brothers and Ginny. Only Molly and Arthur had stayed behind. He wondered if they knew. Shacklebolt continued.

"The Malfoy hair shows only two, though that is to be expected. No doubt Lucius did the deed, and persuaded Narcissa to act as an alibi."

"This is all happening so fast," Harry muttered, lowering his head into his hands.

"What's our next step?" Vaisey asked. Shacklebolt appeared deep in thought for a moment.

"We have to storm the two residences. Malfoy Manor has much more charms on it. It will be harder there. Harry, you will lead the Malfoy party."

"Bullshit!" Harry snapped up. "I know the area around the Burrow as well as any Weasley. I'm the best choice."

"No, Harry, I can't let you near there," Shacklebolt said calmly. "You've become too emotionally involved. I can't risk you doing something stupid."

"I won't," Harry shouted. "I'm not the same stupid kid that charged into the Ministry looking for Sirius. I'll be fine."

"Vaisey, you will be part of the Malfoy team as well," Shacklebolt said, ignoring Harry. "Your job will be to make sure Potter doesn't turn up to the Burrow."

###

Vaisey appeared to have no desire to argue with Harry. Harry quickly found a replacement, Turner, to lead the assault on the Malfoy Manor. He hated that he'd have to follow orders to do it, but he joined the Burrow's team regardless.

Hunter was in charge of the team against the Burrow. The whole Auror department seemed to have been called into this operation. Hunter was himself a much more senior Auror than Harry, and had taken a team of thirty to raid the Burrow – more than half the full-time Aurors in the Department.

"Right, we split into five teams of six. No matter what happens, you stay in your teams. The whole family is on leave from their respective jobs. Their daughter's coffin will also be somewhere in the house. We move in at the same time. Potter, your team will take brooms and use Disillusionment Charms. I want you to land on the roof. McDuff, your team will take the front door; Boot, your team will provide cover. My team will head through the back, and I want Chan to cover me as well. Chan and Boot; your teams will not move until called for, understand?"

Everyone agreed to the plan. Harry wasn't fond of the idea of taking at team in through the attic. The ghoul could give trouble if he though the Burrow was under attack. Still, he and Vaisey were the best flyers in the Department, so it probably made sense to Hunter. And having a surprise attack coming from above could prove decisive.

As they landed on the roof Harry could see the first Auror team moving into position at the front. The Weasleys were far too trusting, it seemed. They'd had none of the problems with wards Harry expected.

Suddenly the whole house shook, and Harry could hear the shouts and curses flying from downstairs. Not wanting to waste any time, he grabbed the edge to spin him down towards Ron's room. He flew straight through the window, raining shards of glass upon his friend's Chudley Cannon's bedspread.

Harry heard Vaisey come crashing through the window behind him. Rather than land on the roof, Vaisey seemed to opt for flying straight into the room. His dismount was almost perfect, and he was at the door right behind Harry.

Not even waiting to see if the team was following, they charged down the stairs. Percy was standing on the third floor landing. He turned around and looked stunned for a moment.

"Harry, what is going on?" he demanded.

"_Stupefy!"_ Harry hissed, knocking Percy backwards and sending him tumbling down the stairs. Harry dashed after the body, leaping over it as it came to a crashing halt at the bottom of the stairs. Harry landed squarely in the middle of the living room, wand still raised.

"Harry?" Arthur asked. Harry spun towards the kitchen door, and quickly stunned Arthur and Charlie, before spinning around to face the other Weasleys, who were now aware of his presence.

"_Avada -!_" Bill began, but he was cut off by Vaisey tackling him to the ground. The rest of the team poured in to rain curses at George, who had whipped out a shield hat and was laughing as their spells bounced harmlessly off of him.

Harry lashed out at him with a kick, catching him in the midriff. George bent over double, and before he could catch his breath another Auror had followed Harry's example and landed a kick on the back of his head, sending him sprawling.

That still left one unaccounted for. Ron had battled through the team at the back door and seemed to be sprinting for the hills, firing spells over his ear at random. Harry leapt over the bodies in the way, not sparing a thought to see if they were alright, and sprinted after his friend.

Ron had a good head start, and much longer legs, but his spell casting was slowing him down, and Harry eventually got within spell distance as they drew towards the trees.

"_Expelliarmus!_" Harry shouted. Ron deflected the spell with ease, but the spell itself must have alerted him to who had cast it. He slowed to a stop before he could reach the trees, and Harry slowed up behind him. Ron turned to face him.

"Harry, I can explain," Ron pleaded. Harry felt a surge of anger in him, but he did not want to give up on Ron.

"I did it for you, Harry," Ron said. "Merlin, if you only knew what she'd done..."

"No, that's not an excuse," Harry snapped. "She was your sister. Your own fucking sister!"

"She had an abortion!" Ron shouted. "She aborted your child and she was about to marry Malfoy!"

Harry was stunned. He felt his anger giving way to just plain shock. _His child._

Ron, however, snapped him out of his revere fairly quickly.

"_Sectumsempra_!" Ron whipped his wand across at neck level, but Harry had already begun to duck at the first syllable. He felt a chunk of his hair being torn out, but he had already levelled his wand at Ron.

"_Crucio_!" he whispered.

Ron screamed and dropped onto his knees. Harry whipped his own wand to send Ron's flying. He rushed across to throw a boot across Ron's foot and mash him backwards into the ground. There Ron lay, terrified as Harry sneered down at him.

He really ought to do it. He could just kill him now, just like he had executed her. For one moment his wand was raised at the ready to deliver the blow. Just as he was about to utter the words he could see her, in his mind's eye.

_No, she would not want this._

"_Expelliarmus_!"

He could have blocked it easily, but he allowed the Auror's to disarm him. He stood off of Ron and did not utter a single word as three Aurors moved in to seize his old friend.

Vaisey came up behind him, offering him back his wand.

"We got them," Vaisey said, though Harry gave no indication that he'd heard. "And the others got the Malfoys as well. A few nasty curses, but no fatalities."

Vaisey gave him a pat on the back, and left him to his thoughts. Harry spent the night at the Burrow, as if guarding it. It felt very wrong that the big house should be so empty.

###


	13. Epilogue

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling**

###

_Ginny was looking at him._

"_Good morning, sleepy-head," she giggled, moving closer to him. He groaned and pulled her closer to him._

"_Watching me sleep again?" he asked. She didn't need to answer. He already knew._

_  
"So, what shall we do today?" she asked, running her hands over his bare chest._

"_I have no plans," he admitted. "But as long as your here, I'll be happy."_

"_I'll always be here. Forever, Harry," she whispered, teasing him with a gentle kiss on his chin._

_He looked into her eyes, and he believed her. _

###

They are all awake.

The man that lies in his cell. His dreams are plagued by what he has done. He had to do it; he had no choice... but the seeds of doubt have already been sown... and he will regret it for the eternity he must spend in his dank, hellhole.

The wife he left behind. She remembers the argument the two of them had had. Had she driven him over the edge? Had she pushed him into doing something monstrous?

The mother who has lost all her children. Her boys that rot in jail for what they've done. Her son, the trickster, who died in battle. Her beloved daughter, apple of her eye, who was taken so cruelly from her.

The father who lied. He tried to protect his sons, but lost his daughter by doing so. He will be out soon. The force of the law was heavy on him, but not as heavy as others.

The man who caught them all. His love is gone from this world, and his life empty. He lies awake and wonders about what could have been; about the family that he almost had and the baby...

He rolls over in his bed. His wand is at his bedside table. He has always slept with it nearby.

It need not be like this. This misery need not go on for any longer.

He reaches for the wand, and pulls it close to him. He grabs his glasses as well. He won't need them for much longer, but instinct tells him that he has to put them on...

What words to use? What would be appropriate? He's seen them all in his time. There are so many ways to do it. In the end, he settles for the only one he's ever used. The one that feels right. His wand gently touches against his own neck.

All it took was a flash of green light...

He is not awake for much longer.

_The End_

_A/N_: A massive thank you to all who reviewed, and for the plot bunny that started this all off.

UPDATE 16/04/09: Another chapter still to come, although this is the end of the "main" storyline that was Harry's investigation, the last chapter will be a little one-shot about what happened during Harry and Ginny's relationship. Hopefully will come soon.


	14. The Decision

**Diclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling.**

Author Notes: This chapter is more of an aside to the main fic. I'd originally planned this to feature as part of the main story, but it just never quite seemed right to me. Here, I have rewritten if from scratch and posted it as a one-shot at the end of the story. Hopefully, it clears up a few things about Ginny and Harry's relationship, and about the events that really triggered the whole events of the main story.

###

Ginny hated hospitals. Somewhere like St Mungo's was bad enough, but this Muggle building seemed even worse. It was so dreary. At St Mungo's they at least had a few portraits. Here it was just the most dull layout imaginable, with the most depressingly poor paintings she had ever seen.

She focused, for a moment, on a particular one that, to her eyes at least, appeared to just be two squares together. She was about to smile at how basic it seemed when something hit her...

The bigger one stands at the front, protecting the little one. Almost like a mother...

_No! I will not cry._

She had thought about this so many times. For the last six years this had been all she wanted. Merlin, she'd dated Harry for six years. It had been slow. Harry had survived his time at the Dursley's, but he still carried the emotional baggage and reluctance to open up. They'd been going well, and Ginny had been trying to drop a couple of hints that he ought to pop the question soon.

Then it all started. It was just a little argument, but then that was how it started.

"_For Merlin's sake, Ginny, you were all over him!"_

_Ginny couldn't understand where all Harry's anger was coming from. They had just gotten back from the most sinfully boring Ministry Ball in history._

"_Oh, come on, Harry. He's a fan of the team! He was just being friendly," she pleaded._

"_Oh, I'll bet he's a fan," Harry snapped. "I can think of one or two reasons why a pervert like that might be a fan of an all-women's team!"_

"_Hey, he's one of your Aurors!" Ginny shouted back. She didn't know why she was defending this man. She'd only danced a few times with him and then signed an autograph for him. Why was Harry blowing up like this? It wasn't like _he_ ever wanted to dance._

_The shouting had carried on for a while. Harry had eventually stormed off to bed, leaving Ginny feeling very confused. She slept in one of the spare rooms. Grimmauld Place had rather a lot of them. Were it not for the portrait of Mrs Black still fixed to the wall, it would be a brilliant house for children. It was Unplottable, and only their friends knew how to get into it. It was certainly much bigger than the Burrow..._

Ginny had often wondered about Harry's jealously that night. It hadn't been much, but obviously the seeds of doubt had been planted.

Harry had been a little short with her for a few days after that, but they'd quickly settled into their old rhythm again.

She had surprised him not long after that. He'd called ahead to say he'd be home late from work again, so she'd had time to arrange a little surprise for him. When he'd come back from work she had been lying there, waiting for him, wearing a rather saucy little number she'd been saving for such a surprise.

She would always remember fondly how his eyes had bulged out of his head.

Of course, he had not reacted like that for long.

"_Ginny! What the hell are you wearing?"_

"_Do you like it?" she asked as seductively as she could manage. She was well aware that her heart was already racing one hundred miles per hour._

"_You're dressed like some sort of... some sort of..."_

"_Of what, Harry?" she whispered._

"_You look like a tart!"_

_Ginny felt her own mouth dropping open, but she quickly closed it again._

"_Come on, Harry, I did this for you." She pouted, trying to look as sad as possible. "Don't you like it?"_

_Harry was very red at this point. It had been a long time since she had seen him this flustered. Clearly, he liked what he saw, but was ashamed of it. Yes, that sounded right. She just had to open him up a little._

_She'd walked over to him slowly, making sure that he got a good look of the lacy, black outfit she was wearing. She pressed herself up against his warm body, bringing a hand up along his shoulder to play with his hair._

"_Come on, Harry," Ginny whispered in his ear, flicking her tongue out to tickle it just once. "Let's try something a little... naughty."_

"_Ginny," Harry croaked. "Please. I can't."_

"_Why not?" she asked, kissing his shoulder. She felt a strong pair of hands on her shoulders, pushing her away. Harry drew in a sharp breath as Ginny's hand staying in his hair, pulling a small cluster away with it._

_He left without so much as even a glance in her direction. She tried to follow, but there was a locking charm on the door. She could have easily undone it with her wand, but the message Harry was giving her was clear..._

Ginny, however, simply could not let it lie.

"_Harry, what the hell happened last night?" Ginny demanded. He'd been avoiding her most of the day. He must have left for work early. But she hadn't even gone to work. She'd been spending all day in the house, hoping that Harry would eventually have to come home._

"_What do you mean?" he asked. Ginny glared at him. How dare he act clueless after what he'd done to her?_

"_You just left me like that," she snapped. "And you called me a tart!"_

"_Well, you were dressed like one!" Harry snapped in response._

"_Oh, so if I dress up in some dark robes and shave my head, I could be Lord Voldemort then, could I?" she asked. "Oh, wait, that was you two years ago, wasn't it? When you were sure Voldemort was working his way back into your head."_

"_Ginny, that Death Eater cast a very powerful Confundus Charm on me, you know that!" Harry shouted. Yes, Ginny had known that. But she had wanted something to throw in his face at that moment._

"_Look, Harry, the point is that I've put up with a lot of shit from you," Ginny said. "I accepted that you're emotionally closed off. I knew it would take a long time for you to get comfortable in this relationship. But you can not just call me a tart when I'm trying to be sexy for you."_

"_Why?"_

_Ginny blinked._

"_Well, I wanted to make you happy."_

"_Why, were you having an affair? With that 'fan' from the ball?"_

_Ginny couldn't believe she was hearing this._

"_How can you bring that up?" she snapped, finally regaining her composure. "I just danced with the guy. It's not like you ever want to dance with me."_

"_And what's that supposed to mean?" Harry roared._

"_Why are you acting like this?" she pleaded._

"_Well, what are you trying to tell me?"_

"_Look, Harry, I love you. But you're so closed off. You never want to dance, or hold hands in public or anything like that."_

"_Because..." Harry began, but he trailed off. The wind was knocked out his sails a bit as he looked for an explanation. "Because... the press! Yes, the press. They'd be all over it."_

"_That's bullshit, Harry! And you know it! It's because you're so scared to be loved. It's just the way you grew up. But it's okay to be scared. We'll get through this together."_

_Harry seemed not to be so angry anymore. Now he was totally on the defensive. And he was babbling._

"_Scared? Pfft. I'm not scared," he said, trying to draw up his height. "I'm never scared. I walked straight into the face of death. I don't get scared of silly little things like this!"_

"_It's okay, Harry. It's just... You hardly ever tell me you love me or anything."_

"_That's because I don't."_

_Her whole world just stopped. She was looking at him, and her mouth was moving, but she could find no words brave enough to escape it. He was looking right back at her. The look on his face was so hard to place. She immediately thought of angry, but she thought back to the look that had graced his face as he had stared down Voldemort. He had been almost terrifying that day. No, this was something else. It was nothing like the hatred and rage he had directed at Voldemort that day._

"_You don't mean that," she begged, feeling the tears starting to flow down her cheeks. "You don't... you can't... you're only saying it because we're in a fight. Yes, we're in a fight and you want to hurt don't mean that."  
_

"_I wouldn't say it if I didn't," Harry replied. His voice was level. He seemed almost calm. Were it not for the intense look on his face she might believe it._

"_You said you loved me," Ginny wept. "Before, when we first made... when we had.... that first time..."  
_

"_And it got me what I wanted, didn't it?" Harry asked._

_Ginny shook her head. No. He couldn't be saying these things. Her Harry would never say such things. He'd never hurt her like this. This couldn't be real._

"_Harry, please," she begged._

"_Just go," Harry said, turning away from her._

"_Harry, this is my home, I have nowhere to go."_

"_Go back to the Burrow," Harry snapped. "It's always been your home."_

"_We'll talk about this in the morning," Ginny said. "When you've had time to calm down, we'll talk about this." _

_Harry gave no response. He just turned and left, turning the lights off as he did. She collapsed in the dark, into a pile on the sofa and wept. She had not cried like this for a long time._

She felt the tears starting to flow now. That night had been utterly horrible. It had been worse, though, to ascend the stairs in the morning to find Harry had already gone. He had left her no note or anything. He must have Apparated straight to work.

But it got worse. It was only then that Ginny remembered that she hadn't had her period yet that month. Her potion for the pain was still on the bedside table...

"_No, oh Merlin, please no," Ginny begged. There was a simple potion to find out. All she had to do was add the vial of urine, and if the potion turned blue..._

"_Oh, please don't be blue."_

_Blue._

_Someone obviously had it in for her._

_She kicked the cauldron aside with a scream, making a frightful mess of the kitchen she'd cleaned just yesterday. She fell to the ground again._

_It wasn't supposed to have been like this. As a little girl she had fantasized about this moment. It was supposed to be the best moment of her life..._

_It wasn't supposed to have been like this._

It had come to this. She'd heard about these places from Hermione. She'd only mentioned it in passing. Something about how barbaric this law that Muggles were passing was. But Ginny had remembered. And she had followed it through.

It had been fairly easy. A few spells had done the trick. Now all she needed to do was talk to a specialist...

"Miss Potter?" a woman asked. Ginny looked up. The woman was not much older than her, but Ginny followed her through to her office anyway.

"Now, Miss Potter, please make yourself comfortable," she said, directing her to a chair. Ginny nodded, and took a seat. The doctor sat down opposite.

"I understand your desire to get this over with quickly, but I'd prefer it if we first discussed all your options," the doctor said. "The procedure itself is not without risk. And it is a bit of a moral issue for some."

"I have to do it," Ginny said. The woman sighed.

"I feel obligated to ask, Miss Potter, what the father thinks of all this."

Ginny's head dropped. Harry obviously didn't know. He could never know. If he knew he'd take her back. He'd take her back, marry her and support her for the rest of her life. Because he would think it was the right thing to do.

But he'd do all that, and he'd never love her.

And she'd never be happy if he didn't.

"Please," Ginny said. "I know I'm being selfish, but I can't have this baby."

The doctor nodded.

"I understand, Miss Potter." She took out a file on her desk. "You'll just need to fill out a few forms, and then we'll book a day for you to come in."

When she left the clinic, she did not feel any better. There was still the actual act to be carried out in a few days. She had begged for it to be as soon as possible. The sooner she could get this over with, the sooner she could get back to her life...

Whatever life she still had left without him...


End file.
